Donald Trump's request to delay hush money sentencing denied by judge

Donald Trump's lawyers have lost a bid to halt this week's sentencing in his hush money case while they appeal a ruling upholding the verdict.

Donald Trump became the first former US president ever convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty on all charges in his hush money case. Source: AFP / Angela Weiss

A New York judge has rejected US president-elect Donald Trump's request to delay sentencing in his hush money case, set for later this week.

The background: Judge Juan Merchan ruled last week that, despite Trump's upcoming inauguration, the sentencing should go ahead on Friday, rejecting his attorney's argument that his election victory should have brought an end to the case.

In a two-page decision, Merchan noted that prosecutors had opposed delaying the sentencing and said it should go ahead as planned, barring a last-minute successful appeal by Trump to a higher court.

The key quote: "This court has considered defendant's arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are, for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past," — Justice Juan Merchan.

"Defendant's motion for a stay of these proceedings, including the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, is hereby DENIED."

What else to know: Merchan has given Trump, the first former president ever convicted of a crime, the option of appearing either in person or virtually at Friday's sentencing and has said he was not inclined to impose jail time on the former and incoming president.

Trump's attorneys had asked the judge to delay sentencing while they appeal his conviction by a Manhattan jury.

He was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

Read more: Election denialism, division, and distrust — the US Capitol riot's mark on America